COMMONWEALTH
OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION
P.
O. Box 2120
Richmond,
VIRGINIA 23218-2120
SUBJECT: Designation of Title IX and 504
Coordinators
The U. S. Department of Education, Office for Civil
Rights (OCR), enforces Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX)
and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504). The provisions
of these civil rights laws apply to any programs or activities receiving or
benefiting from Federal financial assistance.
Title IX states:
No person in the United States shall, on
the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of,
or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity
receiving Federal financial assistance.
Section 504 states: No qualified handicapped person shall, on
the basis of handicap, be subjected to discrimination in employment under any
program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
The purpose of
this memorandum is to remind you of your obligation under Title IX and Section
504 to designate one or more employees to coordinate the responsibilities of
these civil rights laws. These regulations require school divisions to have
well-publicized policies against discrimination, including sexual harassment,
and to have procedures for students and their families to raise and resolve
issues concerning discrimination. Schools are required to implement specific
and continuing steps to notify all students, parents, employees, and the public
that the school does not discriminate. Schools also are required to publish a
notice of nondiscrimination in publications made available to students,
parents, employees, applicants for admission or employment, and in other
sources of information. The Office for Civil Rights encourages the use of one
combined notice for all the civil rights regulations. A combined
non-discrimination notice should contain two basic elements: (1) a statement of non-discrimination in all
programs and activities; and (2) identification by name or title, address, and
telephone number of the employee or employees responsible for coordinating the
compliance efforts.
Compliance with
Title IX and Section 504 is a shared responsibility of an entire institution,
from top-level administration to individual staff members. We appreciate your
leadership in promoting equity and excellence in education for all students.
The Department of Education is collecting the names of school divisions Title
IX and Section 504 coordinators through the School and Staff Administrator
(School ID) Web-based form.
Further
information about Title IX and Section 504, including resources on developing
policies of nondiscrimination and effective grievance procedures, can be
obtained from the Office for Civil Rights at the U. S. Department of
Educations website at http://www.ed.gov/offices/
or you may contact Sandra E. Ruffin (mailto:sruffin@mail.vak12ed.edu),
director of federal program monitoring, at (804) 225-2768, or Horace P. Webb (mailto:hwebb@mail.vak12ed.edu),
education specialist for federal program monitoring, at (804) 225-2618.
JLD/ser/dct